Lorman — Richard Myles had been working hard to become an elite athlete all of his life, so when he got the call that he would be inducted into the Southwestern Athletic Conference Hall of Fame on Dec. 5, he said knew he deserved it.

Myles was a two-sport All-SWAC performer at Alcorn State University in football and baseball.

“Back then, I really wanted to attend Alcorn because I had a brother and sister attend Alcorn before I did,” Myles said. “I played at Alcorn State in 1981. I redshirted my freshman year, then started at quarterback from 1982 to 1985.”

Myles was voted Alcorn State’s Most Outstanding Athlete after leading the Braves to an undefeated regular season in 1984. Named All-SWAC as a quarterback in football and catcher in baseball,

Myles was also selected to the dean’s list and was named to who’s who among college student-athletes.

Myles said he was raised to be a hard worker, and it carried over into his work ethic on the field.

“I was just a hard-working young man from a small town called Flora, and the hard work I did paid off,” he said. “When I got to college, I was really prepared. My father said everything would work out if I worked hard for it.”

When Myles received word that he was inducted into the SWAC Hall of Fame, he said he couldn’t hide his joy.

“It was exciting,” Myles said. “When I got the news, I was so excited, I ran across the gym. I was inducted into Alcorn’s hall of fame, but the SWAC too was amazing.”

Myles received his honor on Dec. 5 in Houston at the Westin Galleria Hotel, and he said his hall of fame speech consisted mostly of him talking about his family and their love and support.

“I told (the crowd) that I was the baby out of 12 kids, and I had to fight for everything, and it made me mentally and physically tough,” Myles joked. “My family supported me all through my athletic career, so I didn’t want to let them down.”

Myles is now a professor at Alcorn State, teaching physical education and recreational classes.